Five Trends Start-ups Should Embrace for Effective Social Media Marketing [Infographic]

We all know the value social media adds to businesses and the potential it holds for those who haven’t tried it out yet. 90% of American businesses already use social media as part of their marketing strategy, with over half of them reporting increased ROI from social media channels.

However, the social media marketing platform is constantly changing. Keeping abreast of these changes is a must for any successful start-up.

These trends highlight key areas that start-ups should look into for effective utilization of investments in social media marketing. You can also check out this infographic for an idea of how these trends are transforming the playing field.

1. Real-Time Engagement

Consumers are getting hungrier for faster responses on social media from their brands. A survey conducted among Twitter users found that over half of consumers expect their favorite brands to respond within an hour of reaching out.

Brands with faster response times are often able to achieve higher ROI from their social media exploits. Employing social listening tools on your social media platforms will ensure you stay engaged with your consumers, which in turn helps your brand to grow.

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Live streaming also offers an advanced platform for engaging with potential clients. Apps like Periscope offer consumers access to real-time events and the opportunity to engage with their brands like never before.

2. E-commerce on Social

Some traditional social media platforms now function as stand-alone ecommerce sites, enabling consumers to shop and buy items away from online retail websites. For instance, Facebook and YouTube introduced their 360 Ads for improved customer experience while Pinterest continues making headway with its buyable pins.

The integration of ecommerce structures within traditional forms of social media has also created fertile ground for other unconventional businesses. For instance, there are dozens of online companies that can get you cheap Instagram likes, Twitter followers, or Facebook shares to help improve visibility for your start-up.

3. Cross-Platform Optimization

If your brand is not visible on mobile, your are losing out on the opportunity to engage with over 52% of users in the US who access social media via their smartphones and tablets. Mobile is a big deal for social media marketing and an even bigger deal for businesses that hope to stay relevant in the 21st century.

In addition to mobile, the IoT is introducing new devices to the social media marketing scene. In the US, over 20% of adults own at least one internet-ready wearable device. Users are now able to get their Twitter feeds or Facebook updates on smart TVs and smart wearable devices such as the Apple Watch.

4. SEO

Social media content plays an indirect role in your search engine rankings, an important one at that. Comments, reviews, and shares from your social media platform to your website can affect your rankings on search engine.

Businesses that optimize their Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and other social platforms for search stand to gain from increased visibility on the internet.

5. Data Analytics

Data is a big part of a successful social media marketing campaign. Social media marketers have traditionally used the information gathered from social media platforms to customize products and services. Data also presents additional opportunities for creating long-lasting customer engagement, which can be more beneficial than individual sales on a short-term basis.

These social media trends are doing more than shape the social media marketing space. They are helping simple start-ups compete in a cut-throat business environment where big companies splurge their marketing budgets to stay visible.

Vikas Agrawal is a start-up Investor and co-founder of the Infographic design agency Infobrandz.com, He is a highly influential research analyst and strategic marketing consultant.Vikas advises and plans the visual marketing campaigns of Medium to Large companies. Vikas has worked globally across multiple industries including retail, financial services, logistics, manufacturing, telecoms and pharmaceuticals deploying effective strategic marketing plans and methodologies. A renowned blogger on the subject of Technology, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

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